#IfYouAreBehind — Tseng Kwong Chi and Martin Wong/ ‘Drug Resistant’ Super Gonorrhea/Grindr’s Data Sharing Problem
Art — Tseng Kwong Chi and Martin Wong — Gay, Asian, American, Activists.
This week, a NYT article titled The Artists Who Brought Asian-Americans Into the Annals of Contemporary Art highlighted the work of Tseng Kwong Chi and Martin Wong, who single handedly took on the prejudices that many Asian-Americans felt then and even to this day.
Tseng Kwong Chi’s work is amazingly a paradox on one’s perception. The artist, who is the sole subject in most of the photographs, poses in front of major landmarks across the United States, all the while wearing a gray Mao jacket, the old uniform of the communist party of China, with his fist raised high, which has a connotation of his continued allegiance. These images appear “like shots of a solitary tourist, chin raised and jutted, tinted sunglasses. He is an ambassador, a visitor out of time. In these works, nothing about the person, though much about the world, is revealed”.
Martin Wong, who resided in the Lower East Side of NYC during his time, portrayed in his work the juxtaposition of an urban visionary who happened to be of Asian descent. At the time, the LES was predominantly Caucasian and Latin and very macho. Wong portrayed his surroundings, which was right next door to Chinatown, but seemed worlds away. His assimilation was necessary and vital and through his documentation, we got to experience, first hand, his own transformation.
These blurred and rarely discussed lines hit the mark in this NYT piece talking about the “permanent outsider” status that afflicts Asian-Americans. Though I can never know the inner feelings of this type of prejudice, it continues to play out even more so in the social art of today. Recently, Daniel Seung Lee and others decided to take on this prejudice and racism to document the experience of gay Asian men within the gay community. This was spearheaded from lack of diversity in any art form and more so the ridiculous response when it was finally called out. Kudos to everyone for continuing to make this voice heard. The more artists, like Tseng Kwong Chi, Martin Wong, and Daniel Seung Lee, who discuss these important, deeply rooted issues, the more the hopes of acceptance and continued assimilation in all aspects of life. Why this is still an issue in 2018 is beyond me, but in the times of today it is so imperative to have these discussions at the highest of levels with the utmost exposure. And it is critical that in order to overcome this injustice, one must be confident to look beyond being the victim and educate through all appropriate mediums.
Of note: both Tseng Kwong Chi and Martin Wong succumbed to the HIV virus in the 80’s, leaving behind a legacy that deserves the recognition the NYT gave it (thank you for this exposure).
Science — ‘Drug Resistant’ Super Gonorrhea is Here.
Oh, fuck me in the ass. This can’t be good, right? Just think about it — World Health Organization (WHO) officials estimate that gonorrhea, which is one of the world’s most common sexually transmitted infections (STI), affects 78 million people globally each year. That’s a lot of sex to be had and when you truly grasp the shear number afflicted, it’s more surprising that this didn’t happen decades sooner. People love to fuck. Who doesn’t? But should this dampen the mood at all? Let’s dive deeper (no pun intended).
A quick thing to point out before we go further — it wasn’t the homo that caused this super bug. An unidentified heterosexual British male has been confirmed as the first case of the disease, according to Time Magazine. This particular strain of gonorrhea did not respond to the conventional antibiotic treatment of choice. He is currently being treated with two powerful intravenous drugs, typically reserved for quite serious infections, and it has yet to be determined how he will respond or if at all.
WHO has already been concerned about this occurring for quite some time, due to “the bacteria that causes gonorrhea being particularly smart, evolving to resist antibiotics”.
Some quick stats as of a September 26, 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Estimated that 470,000 Americans were diagnosed with gonorrhea in 2016 alone
A surge of over 2 million new cases of gonorrhea and other STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in the United States
The CDC global estimates close to 20 million total annual STI infections
Gonorrhea, however, is extremely common among young people, especially those ages 15–24 years
I love how the Plus Magazine mentions in their piece, “Getting people to adhere to general safe sex practices can prevent the disease from becoming a serious one. Using condoms and common sense is what can reduce infection rates for gonorrhea and other STIs”. Is that the real answer to this dilemma? I honestly don’t think this is the solution. With almost half of those under 25 never using a condom with a new partner (we even ran our own study to see people’s sex habits) and with the rapid adoption of PrEP, adherence to condoms is even lower. Don’t get me wrong — as a medical professional, risk assessment is key, and choosing the best option for safer sex — whether that’s condoms, PrEP, or a combination of both — is something you should consult your doctor about and discuss with each of your partners. That being said, I believe it’s time to start thinking outside the box on these worldwide issues. We have spoken endlessly about condom usage when it comes to safe sex practices and clearly it hasn’t worked.
I always think of the days when people were deficient in fluoride and some genius decided to place it in the toothpaste because it was something everyone (should) use daily. Problem solved. Now can we take this model and apply it to lubricants? It’s just a thought. Or what about using current social and dating platforms as a way to not only deliver critical testing and treatment, but also somehow work with medical providers to validate people’s test results prior to engagement or be able to connect partners for treatment if diagnosed?
But whatever we all come up with, I believe we have to take the “common sense” out of the equation. Common sense isn’t so common. It hasn’t worked in the past, so why would anyone think it can work in the future? With us at Bespoke Surgical and you being part of our community and mission, I do believe in due time we can create guided platforms for appropriate and sustainable eradication. Thoughts?
Sex — Oh, Grindr, Grindr, Grindr! What have you done?
Recently, Buzzfeed uncovered that Grindr, the popular gay hook-up app, has ceased sharing users’ HIV status with its third-party vendors. Though they state “a misunderstanding of what was being shared and with whom”, we see over and over again the use (or misuse) of confidential data and the breach of informed consent.
Grindr has stated they will change its policy; however, they do think they are being “unfairly singled out” and should not be lumped into the current Facebook and Cambridge Analytica fiasco.
It seems that all of the above stemmed from two analytics companies, Apptimize and Localytics, both of which help apps improve overall strategies. In this case, Grindr profiles carry a considerable weight in data that these companies simply use to help the app function better.
So the questions continue to surface: what is public versus private data and who indeed owns the right for disclosure? You think I know the fucking answer? For me, using confidential data for the betterment of our own and/or of our community’s sexual practices is fine with the right intentions, permissions, and care. The problem lies in the abuse of data and the possibility of hacking — something that has happened far too many times in recent months.
If you knew Grindr (or any other dating app) was safely using your HIV status and testing results to populate better strategic education platforms and enhance pharmaceutical access for higher risk regions through geo-location on the app, would you allow that? Assuming security of this data was airtight, then I think it all comes down to full disclosure. I believe that most people, if asked and given full control of whose hands this data ends up in and given the ability to easily revoke access at any time, would agree.
If a healthier community is the end goal, and data safety is strictly enforced, I do believe it’s something we should continue to discuss and explore.
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